Declan (Ailil)
Count Declan is an Unseelie Sidhe Wilder of House Ailil. Overview The meteoric rise to power of Count Declan as one of House Ailil's leading military strategists has caused many to wonder if the House of the Silver Dragon has decided to place more emphasis on armed strength rather than diplomacy and guile. Early in his fosterage, Declan demonstrated a remarkable skill in weapons of all kinds as well as a tenacious grasp of tactics. Inducted soon after his Saining into the Guardians of the Silver Dragon, he soon distinguished himself in tournaments and other martial competitions. His moment of glory came, however, when he led a group of Guardians to the rescue of a member of the high lord's entourage held captive by a group of Dauntain deprogrammers. Lord Erdath rewarded Declan's bravery and success by naming him a count of House Ailil, despite the fact that the title had no lands to accompany it. Instead, Declan has used his status to recruit other young Ailil sidhe into the Guardians, teaching them the fine art of warfare. Since the high king's disappearance, he regularly meets with Erdath and other prominent members of the house for planning sessions to discuss contingency plans for an armed uprising against the Seelie of Concordia. Declan's primary failing lies in his inability to avoid confrontations with members of House Gwydion, although he manages to restrict open combat against Gwydion knights to formal duels or the tournament ground. Image Tall and slim, with dark brown hair and blue eyes, Declan carries himself with a confidence born of hard training and a knowledge of his own strengths and others' weaknesses. A Story of Honor Beginnings In the opening story of House Ailil in The Book of Houses 2, we meet Declan traveling to Lady Arlana's freehold of Silverwood. He hears a fracas ahead and rides ahead. He sees in the distance a motley of commoners attacking a lone horseman. He rides forward, but certain he'll only arrive to pick up the pieces. When he arrives at the scene, though, he finds the man barely alive, with small traces of Glamour clinging to him. He weaves a healing cantrip.. enough to keep the sidhe knight alive until better healers can be brought to bear. He also takes pity on the knight's faerie steed and heals its wounds that would otherwise have necessitated it being put down. Returning to the sidhe knight whose life he had saved, he recognizes his blazon as being of House Dougal. He also notices a sealed parchment tube marked with the seal of the Parliament of Dreams. Guessing the destination of the knight as his own destination, he takes the man to Silverwood. At Silverwood At Silverwood, in her private chambers, on the topmost floor of the palace, Lady Arlana sat pensively behind a small writing desk. Declan sat opposite her, waiting for her to process his information he had delivered. Questioning when the Dougal knight would awake, Declan informs her he will regain his senses that evening and stir the next morning. He expressed interest in what would transpire at that awakening and Arlana, who had invited him, asks if he intends to stay. He in turn entreats her formally to grant him hospitality according to the rules of the Escheat. Arlana, in turn, sensing an intrigue afoot, extends him formal hospitality of her house and lands and places herself and her honor as surety for his safety for the next three days and nights starting from that hour. After some few more minutes of discussion, Declan went to find amusement among the courtiers of the household while the lady of the house made preparations for her unexpected guest. Welcoming Dougal The next day, Lady Arlana received the Dougal knight in her formal audience chamber with Count Declan standing attentively to one side; on the other side, her fledge, Calinthe. As the Dougal knight stopped a few paces from the throne, he bowed with civility, as protocol demanded, Arlana welcomed him in the name of her house to her freehold and granted him leave to speak freely in the hall of his purpose in coming. The sidhe knight introduced himself with rehearsed words as Sir Gannon ap Dougal, acting as knight courier on behalf of the Parliament of Dreams, saying that he came with a message for the hand and eye of Lady Arlana of Silverwood, daughter of Ailil and loyal subject of the Kingdom of Concordia. Accepting the message tube, Arlana broke the seal and read the goblin parchment quietly, before handing it back to Gannon who read it for the first time. She turned to Declan. "It seems you have brought your own doom into this household," she said. "That," indicating the parchment, "is a summons for you to appear before the Parliament of Dreams to answer charges of possible complicity in the disappearance of the high king, or should I say the former high king." Gannon was flustered, as he had no idea what the content of the summons was. Declan answered. "It matters little. You have discharged your duty and I must comply with the summons, or else place myself and my name in jeopardy." Gannon tried to voice a suitable reply but speech failed him in his awkward situation. Lady Arlana preempted his speech anyway. "That may be, Lord Declan, but I would have you remember that just hours ago I extended to you my hospitality for three days and nights. Sir Gannon, I hereby extend to you of my own freewill the hospitality of my house and lands and place myself and my honor as surety for the next three days and nights, beginning from this hour. Surely you will not violate either the sanctity of my host-bond to Lord Declan nor refuse to accept the offer I have extended to you." "I have little choice but to obey those who sent me, my lady," Sir Gannon said with misery in his voice. Arlana continued. "Sir Gannon, do you accept the terms of my hospitality with the understanding that, when the time has passed, you may freely exercise your mandate to deliver Count Declan to the Parliament for judgement?" Sir Gannon responded with discomfort. "Lady Arlana, since you offer me the opportunity to keep my word without violating your hospitality, I will gladly accept your terms." With that, Arlana and Calinthe left the room, leaving the two sidhe men together. Declan & Gannon And so began the mutual guesting of Declan and Gannon in the freehold of Lady Arlana. The two talked, as they had little else to do, as they could not fight for the next three days. Gannon spoke slowly and uncertainly. He assumed it was Declan who rescued him from his attackers on the road and acknowledged his debt. Declan, studying the unflinching Seelie, informed him he did not rescue the knight, though he did save his life... and that of his steed. Hearing his horse lived, Gannon was overjoyed and thanked Declan again... starting to warm to the man. As the two walked to see their horses, Arlana and Calinthe watched, the younger sidhe deepening her education as Arlana explained a few of the things happening. As the fledge was confused, she was encouraged to pay attention to the two sidhe men. A Banquet That night, Arlana held a feast in honor of her guests. Gannon sat to her left, opposite Declan and managed to look at ease as he conversed with the other residents of the freehold: Sir Lochlan, Lord Thierry, Garsen the troll, and Ziloa the eshu bard. The Dougal knight answered a few innocuous questions about his house history. Though silent most of the meal, Declan finally asked Gannon if he had some questions for the household of his own. Gannon admitted that he did have one question. He took a deep breath and then, "How can you so blatantly espouse the belief that honor is a lie when I have observed so many instances of honorable behavior in this freehold?" To Declan, "You, sir, could have left me for dead in the forest and none would have been the wiser. Instead, you chose to call my spirit from the brink of extinction and repair the damage done to my body as well." To Arlana, "And you, Lady Arlana, have offered me the kindness and largesse of your house as well as the ministrations of your household." Before Arlana could respond, Declan cleared his throat to respond and she allowed it. "I understand you confusion, Sir Gannon. You labor under the same misconception as most others who follow the Seelie Code's insistence on death before dishonor. I'm afraid that you confuse action with intent. For myself (and I make no claim to speak for anyone else) honor, as you seem to define it, represents a series of platitudes that exist only in a hypothetical realm. You adhere to a set of do's and don'ts imposed by others to force you to adopt certain standards of behavior. I repudiate any claim that others make to define and dictate my actions. My honor is what I make of it, not what others do. Any other sort of honor is a lie." Lady Arlana looked to Gannon, asking if it answered his question. If not, she offered to give her own answer to clarify, or maybe complicate the matter. Gannon said he understood, he thought, what Declan had offered but was eager to hear hers as well. She warned him that he may not like what he hears, that it could be inflammatory. Gannon pointed out that the Oath of Hospitality bound him from takin offense at her words, especially since he had solicited them. (Sir Lochlan thought that well-spoken.) Lady Arlana continued. "Then, in the spirit of mutual hospitality, I will speak my mind openly for your benefit. By it's own actions, the Seelie Court has proven the truth of our philosophy of honor. The actions taken during the Accordance War by the armies of Gwydion, Fiona, Dougal, Eiluned, and, I suspect, Liam, did not fall comfortably within my definition of honorable behavior. Certainly honor had no place in the meeting hall on the Night of Iron Knives." Gannon's face reddened with anger, but he bit back a response, waiting for more. "The fact that after 30 years, the Seelie Court still claims absolute sovereignty over the fae in Concordia also bespeaks a somewhat loose interpretation of the concept of honor, but I could spend most of the evening elaborating on that fundamental betrayal of what you call honor. I suppose I shall simply say that we prefer to claim that honor is a lie because we have so often seen the truth of out words played out upon the grand stage of politics." Silence descended. Sir Gannon closed his eyes, reminding himself that he had, in fact, asked the question. When he felt he could trust his words, he merely thanked both fae for their frankness and for giving him much to muse upon before he slept that evening. Dinner ended shortly thereafter, with the fae going to other activities. Gannon turned to Declan, apologizing for spoiling the dinner. Declan only laughed, and told him he had only allowed the hostess the opportunity to preach someone outside the Unseelie choir. The two debated the matter of honor far into the night with neither side gaining a clear victory in the battleground of words. The Following Days For the next two days, Gannon spent his time in the company of Count Declan, participating in a chimerical foxhunt in the Near Dreaming of the palace. Declan enjoyed the opportunity to study a Seelie fae at his leisure. They both discovered they enjoyed chess and spent one whole afternoon matching skills, each with very different styles: Declan one of finesse and calculated risk, Gannon with head-on confrontation while not throwing away long-term advantage for short-term gain. In their final match, Declan accused the Dougal knight of not taking an earlier advantage, and asked if he was concerned about the approaching end of their grace period. Gannon gave a non-committal answer, then asked if Declan remembered anything. Declan looked puzzled, saying he wasn't certain he understood the question. Gannon elaborated, speak of having memories from before the Shattering. Declan admitted to some hazy recollections and asked what led the knight to ask him. Hesitantly, Gannon recounted the dreams he had been having, those that led him to remember that Declaniel of House Ailil had once sworn to him that his life belonged to Gannon after the Dougal knight saved his life at the Shattering. Declan spoke, saying that if the memories are true, the oath still binds, especially since Gannon had not released him from it. Gannon admitted to feeling like he was betraying Declan by bringing the note containing the summons to the Parliament. Declan didn't protect the man's feelings, saying he couldn't help how Gannon felt. "You must follow your code of honor. If my life is indeed in your hands, then I am yours to do with as you feel you must. The oath you say I swore to you did not include any provisions for my safety or my freedom." Gannon spoke of being unable to renege on his duty to the Parliament. Declan said he wasn't asking him to do that. Gannon said what he could do was, after delivering Declan to Tara-Nar, he would stand beside him and give testimony to his character and honor, despite their differences of opinion on the word's meaning. He was wiling to stake his reputation as a knight of House Dougal and of the Red Branch on his innocence of the charges. Declan pointed out that such a risk was unnecessary. Gannon claimed he saved Declan's life before. Declan saved his more recently. All Gannon needed to do was release him from the vow, saying the debt was paid; a life for a life. "Or would that be too easy a path for someone from a house that prides itself on hardship and disability?" he added bitterly. Gannon blanched. "If you think to anger me by such a crass reference to this," thrusting his mangled hand forward so Declan could see it fully, "you severely misjudge my intentions. I am not looking for a way out of my quandary; I'm looking for a way into yours." "I have just given you one, if you will take it," Declan whispered. Gannon nodded, speaking in a voice bereft of all emotion but sorrow. "So be it. I do release you from all oaths that you have sworn to me." Then he quickly strode from the room. Declan remained a few minutes, moving the chess pieces desultorily about the board, before leaving the room as well. Endings That night, Declan left the freehold as, just as he calculated, his three days had run out. He left a note for Gannon, though, admitting that when he healed the knight, he had also remembered the event from before the Shattering. He admitted also that he needed to be released from the oath and thanked Gannon for that. Eregannon, '' ''forgive my feigned ignorance as you shared your memories of our ancient pact. Ever since I invoked the power of the Dreaming to heal your wounds and replenish your faerie spirit, I, too, have known of our brief encounter so many centuries ago. Cherish your memory of that time, though it may bring you bitterness at first because of my perceived betrayal of your trust. I had need of you to release me from my oath, and for that I thank you. Think me dishonorable if you will; condemn me if you must, but please understand that now, more than ever, you have gained a precious insight into the Unseelie heart of my house. I have come to respect your dedication and I do not regret the time we spent under one roof. In my own fashion, I have tried to uphold my definition of honor. Should we chance to meet again, I hope that you will consider me your adversary, rather than your enemy. '' ''Your brother in the Dreaming, '' ''Declaniel ap Ailil." The Secret Declan, of course, fooled everyone. When he brought the letter to Arlana, he opened the seal and read it. He then changed one name in the summons: he switched Arlana's name for his own. This gave her time to depart Concordia and him time to study a Seelie adversary. Though he had to lay low for a few days, he is not being looked for and the Parliament has no reason to seek him out. References # CTD. Pour L'Amour et Liberte: The Book of Houses 2, pp. 5-16, 48-49. Category:Unseelie (CTD) Category:Sidhe (CTD) Category:Wilders (CTD) Category:House Ailil (CTD)